Thioplex Warnings and Precautions

Reviewing your medical history with your healthcare provider before starting treatment with Thioplex can help minimize potentially dangerous complications. Safety precautions with Thioplex include warnings of serious drug interactions, allergic reactions, and dangerously low blood cell counts. Also, people who have liver or kidney damage may not be able to use this medicine.

What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to receiving Thioplex® (thiotepa) if you have:

You should also tell your healthcare provider about all other medications you are taking, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Specific Precautions and Warnings for Thioplex

Some warnings and precautions to be aware of prior to receiving this medication include the following:

Like other chemotherapy medicines, Thioplex can cause significant bone marrow depression (when the bone marrow does not make adequate amounts of blood cells). As a result, people who receive this drug may develop potentially serious problems, including:

Bone marrow depression from Thioplex has been reported to cause death from bleeding and infection. Your healthcare provider will monitor your blood cell counts, using simple blood tests, at least weekly during treatment and for three weeks after treatment ends. You may need a lower dose, or stop treatment altogether, if your blood cell counts drop too low.

People with liver disease, kidney disease, or bone marrow damage will be treated with lower Thioplex doses and monitored carefully during treatment.

Thioplex may cause an irregular menstrual cycle in women or interfere with sperm production in men, which could affect your ability to have a child.

There have been reports of people developing other types of cancer, including certain types of leukemia, after being treated with Thioplex. These other cancers may develop years after treatment ends.

Thioplex can be irritating to the skin, especially if it leaks from the vein during administration and comes into contact with skin tissue. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you experience stinging, burning, pain, redness, or swelling at your injection site. He or she will stop your injection and begin certain treatments to prevent skin damage.

Thioplex is a pregnancy Category D medication, which means it may harm an unborn child if used during pregnancy (see Thioplex and Pregnancy).

It is unknown whether Thioplex passes through breast milk. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding or plan to start, discuss this with your healthcare provider prior to receiving the drug (see Thioplex and Breastfeeding).

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